SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE:

The Advent season is about preparing ourselves for Christmas. As our society urges us to hurry, Advent invites us to wait.

Each week we light a candle on the Advent wreath, symbolizing the illumination we experience again with the Christmas miracle of the divine light birthed in the form of a child.

At Fairview Community Church, we have been lighting candles to observe the Season of Peace. If you’d like to join us, we gather at 6 p.m. Wednesdays through the rest of the season.

We thought that standing with our hearts and candles burning would be a simple way to stand for peace, but standing for peace can be as difficult as a candle burning in the wind.

On a recent Wednesday we stood excitedly on our corner, but our candles immediately blew out. We tried again.

Again the flames flickered, and the wind extinguished them. We realized that if we turned ourselves inward toward the church, huddled together, we could find safety in our sanctuary, away from the traffic, away from the world.

We found even when we lit our candles, the minute we turned toward the streets our flames would blow out. We were afraid to open ourselves up, to turn away from the church and into the streets for fear our light would burn out. And it did.

But even in our fear of turning out from the safety of our huddle, we continued to try to light each others’ candles until finally, we were able to keep those candles lit, our prayer of peace burning in the crisp night air.

This is poignantly Advent — we stand in the darkness, and we await the light.

Our own flames burn out, but time and again a hand reaches over and shares a new light.

As hard as it may be to light the flame of peace, together we can do it.

We extend our candles and share the fire until finally we’re strong enough together to turn away from the safety of the church, yet with the church behind us, we face the night, a witness and a prayer for peace.

May peace burn within your hearts this Advent Season.

REV. SARAH HALVERSON is the senior pastor at Fairview Community Church in Costa Mesa.